Anne Lelen, left, and Dallis Treacy talk about Thursday’s fatal shooting in Mill Valley on Friday. The two live down the street from the apartment building where the shootings occurred. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)

The incident began when the owner of the apartment complex at 939 E. Blithedale Ave. attempted to discuss a pending eviction with tenant Victor Aurelino Lugo, 71. After an argument broke out, Lugo shot the landlord and killed his daughter with a revolver, before apparently shooting and killing himself, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said.

The county coroner’s office has identified the victim as 30-year-old Sabrina Elizabeth Lew, who died at Marin General Hospital. Her surviving father, Leonard Lew, 84, spent the night in intensive care. Both are residents of Mill Valley.

Forensic post mortem examinations and toxicology testing on Lew and Lugo have been scheduled to determine the causes and manners of death.

Marin sheriff’s Lt. Steve de la O said the investigation is pending “the recovery and ability to speak” of the landlord who underwent surgery.

De la O said that Lugo had previously called authorities in January “for advice about an alteration to his apartment,” which had caused a dispute. Lugo at that time met with a deputy, but there was “no physical altercation” reported between the tenant and landlord, de la O said.

De la O declined to elaborate on what type of changes Lugo had inquired about. Eviction proceedings began in March, and whether it is related to this dispute is not known, de la O said.

The shooting occurred at about 3:30 p.m. at the apartment complex near Tower Drive on East Blithedale Avenue. Police received at least one report of a gun barrel protruding from an apartment at the complex.

Authorities blocked traffic at Tower Drive to look for the gunman and evacuated at least eight residents in the area. Other residents were told to stay indoors.

Police entered the suspect’s apartment, where he was found dead. A revolver believed to be the weapon used in the incident was found lying at the suspect’s feet. No other weapons were found.

Dallis Treacy, who lives in an apartment near the complex where the shooting occurred, was home with her friend Anne Lelen when police arrived.

“We went outside and police waved their hands motioning for us to stay inside,” Treacy said. “It was scary. This is Mill Valley. Crime doesn’t happen here.”

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Laura Spence, who lives on Dorset Lane, one block west of Tower, said that police parked cars in front of her home and, armed with assault rifles, searched through residents’ yards.

“That’s when I said, OK, this is serious,” she said. “It was scary, but I felt safe that they (the authorities) were there.”

Robert Elam, board member of the Marin Rental Property Association, which serves rental owners and managers, said he didn’t know the Lew family.

The association does provide rental owners and managers assistance for landlord-tenant disputes, but its members were not aware of any dispute at the complex, he said.

“Typically we are talking about conversing with legal counsel, bringing in lawyers and case officers to resolve disputes and mediate them,” he said.

“For something like these matters, these kind of disputes, we would bring in police departments or code enforcement,” but he noted that he didn’t know the specifics of the situation.

About the Author

Adrian Rodriguez covers Mill Valley, Belvedere, Tiburon, Corte Madera and Larkspur for the Marin IJ. He also writes the weekly business column Movers & Shakers, which appears in Friday's paper. Reach the author at arodriguez@marinij.com or follow Adrian on Twitter: @adrianrrodri. Reach the author at arodriguez@marinij.com
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